


Remember

by smileyarmy



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Gen, angel!Dan, fantasy!grumps, shapeshifter!ross, treasure hunter! arin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-10-15 03:41:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10549474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smileyarmy/pseuds/smileyarmy
Summary: “And what makes you think I’d help you find this guy? Or save him? I’m not a lost person finder. I find lost objects. I’m not a vigilante.” Clearly the ninja had the wrong guy. He didn’t find people. There wasn’t much of a reward and most of the time, the person was dead. It just wasn’t a good field to be in. Artefacts didn’t have families to disappoint. Instead, they had monetary value.“Because he was your friend.”





	1. Help Wanted

Arin didn’t tend to see weird shit often. In a town where fae creatures passed through all the fucking time, he didn’t tend to notice any more if someone had scales or horns or a third hand. Business was business. He would just keep moving through on his own way. Selling his artefacts and doing whatever work he could get before he felt the need to move on.

He was a treasure hunter at heart. Always looking for that next big prize. For the next payday. In their world, being a human was basically being nothing. He had to stand out against the woodland fae who wore beauty on their faces or the shapeshifting fae who were strong as fuck. But he had his talents. An ability to charm his way into any place.

But even he hadn’t been prepared for the man all in black garb nearly stabbing a barmaid. It was a ruckus that he would expect from the capital, not the small village that he found himself in. He saw a flash of gold dragons on the man’s chest before he was forcefully ejected from the establishment.

A ninja? They never travelled this far south, preferring the foggy mountains to the north. And why would one act so visibly. They were known for their speed and agility. If you were marked for death by a ninja, you had no chance of escape. They would kill you before you were aware that you were in danger.

If he’d never gone outside, he would have never gone on the adventure he’d went on. If he’d continued eating, he’d never have learnt of his true power.

But he was a curious guy by nature and the display had been compelling. That and…Arin could describe it, but he felt drawn outside. Like seeing the ninja had awoken some deep desire inside him that needed to be fulfilled and it wouldn’t be unless he found out who the ninja was.

He left some gold coins on his table and ran outside, following the feeling. His gut had never proven him wrong so far. It would lead him to whatever this was. He kept a hand on his sword just encase he was misreading the situation and this man was a danger instead of a friend.

“ _Hello.”_

The voice caused Arin to jump. Not because of the tone or the volume. No, it was the fact that it was in his head. He had heard it like he’d been surrounded by it and as he spun to look, he spotted the ninja several feet away.

“Did…Did you just talk to me in my head?” The treasure hunter wasn’t sure if he was impressed or terrified. A power like that could do a lot of things to a person. Like make them think they were going mad.

“ _Yes.”_ The ninja stared at him and Arin felt like he was being analysed. “ _You’re not what I expected.”_

“What did you expect?”

“ _A warrior. But I guess a treasure hunter shall suffice.”_

The response caused Arin’s eyes to widen. How the fuck had he known that? It wasn’t something he advertised apart from when he’d found something. Even then, it wasn’t a fact that everyone knew.

“Can all ninjas do that? Talk in people’s head. Cause that’s fucking weird.” Arin felt an angry push of emotions in his head that made his head hurt a little.

“ _No. I was given this power by a friend. I need help saving him.”_ A power being given to someone? It was impossible. Powers came from fae and they couldn’t just give powers away. They were part of someone.

“And what makes you think I’d help you find this guy? Or save him? I’m not a lost person finder. I find lost objects. I’m not a vigilante.” Clearly the ninja had the wrong guy. He didn’t find people. There wasn’t much of a reward and most of the time, the person was dead. It just wasn’t a good field to be in. Artefacts didn’t have families to disappoint. Instead, they had monetary value.

“ _Because he was your friend.”_ The ninja took a step forward, more into the light. His face was obscured by his mask but his eyes seemed to lose a bit of their aggressive stare.

“I know where all my friends are.” Arin didn’t understand. None of his friends had mentioned knowing a ninja and they were pretty damn open about that shit. Arin knew more about how shapeshifters mated than he’d ever wanted to.

“ _He made you forget to protect you. He did the same to me. But he’s real. His name was Danny. And he will die if we don’t find him.”_ The voice took on an almost pleading tone.

“Why would he make me forget about him? Is that even possible? And how do _you_ remember if he made you forget?” The name made his heart clench for a reason he didn’t understand. It felt like loss and yet, he didn’t know a single person called Danny.

“ _It is. His powers were very strong. He made us forget so we were not killed by the king. Us knowing about him made us dangerous. I felt a hole. I meditated for weeks until I remembered his name. Weeks more to remember why he’d done what he’d did. And weeks more to remember you. I admit I don’t remember everything but he is in danger.”_

Arin didn’t know how to respond. It all sounded like the crazed dreams of a man who’d snapped. And yet, Arin felt his heart wanting to agree with everything that he’d said. That he’d known a man called Danny who’d made him forget. He shook his head a little to clear his head. He hadn’t decided if he was believing this or not. Maybe he was lonely and dreaming up the connection?

“Say I was believing this; how would we find him? If he’s strong enough to wipe memories, he’s gotta be some kind of fae. I wouldn’t even know what region he came from.”

“ _Heaven.”_ The ninja took another step closer.

“Heaven? Like, where you go when you die?” Arin’s voice had turned sceptical. “If he’s there, we can’t get him back. He’s dead.” Exactly why he hated these sorts of jobs. Except the client, so to speak, already knew that the missing man was dead.

“ _No, he’s in the capital. His region was heaven.”_ The ninja rolled his eyes and Arin felt insulted but it felt old. Like he’d gotten used to it. But he’d never seen this man before. He wasn’t liking these echoes of feelings. Or what they could mean.

“His region was- **he was a fucking angel**?” Arin felt hands cover his mouth and the ice blue eyes glared holes into Arin.

“ _Yes, but if you shout that it’ll get us killed. That was why he wiped our memories. He was about to be caught and they would have killed us or captured us for knowing what he was.”_ The ninja moved with a speed gained through years of training back to his previous position.

“He’s in the capital! That will get us killed!” Arin ran a hand over his face. If this was true, then he had far more questions. And he didn’t think that the ninja could handle many more what with his hand dancing around his blade.

“ _We have to try. He sacrificed himself for us.”_ The ninja was going to try anyway but he needed help. Danny would need help to get out of the capital and who else but a treasure hunter to charm their way out?

Arin had already decided long ago but he had fought it. Mainly due to self-preservation. But something had his heart pulling at him to go. Maybe it was the clear care the ninja had or his own confusing feelings but he knew he was going.

“At least tell me you have a plan.” He was the one with less information about this. The ninja had to have some idea on how to get the angel out of the capital.

“ _I have a way in. But getting him out will be difficult.”_

“Which is where I come in.” Arin assumed to which the ninja nodded.

“ _He is under constant guard. I cannot kill everyone and get him out before they use their failsafe.”_

“That sounds like you tried.” Arin couldn’t help but notice the change in wording.

“ _I did. At the time, I didn’t know that you existed. But I couldn’t get him out. He was too weak and…”_ The ninja actually paused and Arin wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what the ninja had to say. “ _They forced him to fight me.”_

They had forced an angel to fight? Angels were peaceful creatures. Any sign of violence often was what got an angel to fall. It could only happen in heaven but Arin had heard stories of angels being pushed off the clouds and losing their wings as they fell to their realm. The wings burning and charring.

“ _He didn’t want to. I could see that. They have employed dark magic to twist his mind. I am afraid that if we do not get him out soon…It made take over completely. I don’t know how long he has been there but I can tell that he won’t survive much longer.”_

Arin felt his heart once again bringing forward confusing feelings of anger over the treatment of the man he didn’t know. But also, pain. Pain that he wasn’t there to protect said man.

“I think I have an idea for a way out.” Arin finally spoke. The ninja stood a little straighter.

“How do you feel about shifters?”

Never had he seen a man’s face grow angrier.


	2. Getting Help

Arin had managed to convince the ninja that they should leave in the morning instead of when the sun had already set. Though it had taken a while. The ninja was clearly antsy about getting on with everything but Arin needed sleep. He wasn’t trained to last long hours without the hint of a break. If he didn’t get at least six hours he was useless to you.

But the ninja conceded and they met again just as the sun was starting to break the horizon. In the light of day, the ninja looked more comical than dangerous but Arin knew better than to assume so. The guy wasn’t wearing the uniform just to mess around.

“ _I still don’t see why we need shifters_.” The ninja had made his stance clear that he was against the use of the creatures.

“Because we need a distraction. And a shifter has a higher chance of actually being able to escape afterwards.” Arin sighed as the two started walking out of the town towards another small town. The shifter Arin had in mind lived a town over and unlike the ninja he couldn’t just run everywhere.

“ _What if he betrays Danny? Angels and shifters aren’t always compatible.”_ The ninja didn’t even trust the concept of the shifter. And he hadn’t even met him yet.

“He won’t. This guy is loyal. That and messing with people is kinda his thing so he’ll love to fuck with some royal guards.” Arin didn’t know if the plan would work but it was more than they’d had before. They couldn’t get it wrong. If the ninja was right, then this angel needed to get out of the capital as fast as possible.

The two walked in silence for a while before Arin had to ask.

“How come you don’t talk? I mean, you said this Danny guy gave you the telepathy but why would he need to? And what’s your name? You never told me your name.”

The ninja glared at the other and Arin assumed that was just his resting face.

“ _Danny called me Ninja Brian. At the start, he called you human Arin. You just called me Brian.”_ He flat out ignored the first question. Arin let it go for now since it wasn’t a priority.

Ninja Brian. A strange name. Then again, Angels weren’t from this realm. For them, it would be strange to have such species and different names for each.

“So, you just meditated to remember bits of him?” Arin wasn’t sure such a tactic would work for him if he did have such memories. He wasn’t the sit around and think type.

“ _Doing so meant I was able to break apart parts of the block he’d put up. But I am not with all my memories of him. I don’t know how to give you your memories back.”_

Silence, at least, their version of silence settled once more. Both of them lost in thought. Arin wasn’t sure how to feel about any of this. His heart seemed to beat in agreement to everything that Brian told him and yet, he didn’t remember it. It was an odd mix of familiar and brand new that didn’t set well with him.

This wouldn’t be like any other treasure find. **If** they got out of the capital, and that was a big if, Brian had mentioned that Danny was under some form of mind control. The other might fight them and make this all harder. An angel wasn’t someone to be messed with. They had powers that were, well, heavenly.

But why had the angel been on earth? Most angels who were on earth were only there for a short amount of time. And yet the way Brian spoke…It was like Danny was his closest friend. Someone who had spent plenty of time earning that position. He had so many questions but he didn’t want to risk the ninja’s wrath in order to find out the answer.

He tried searching his mind for anything that could prove the ninja’s story that Arin had known the missing angel and yet, he couldn’t find a thing. Not even a whisper. His heart had the weird clenching feeling but that could just be the plausible fear that he would die trying this clearly going to fail plan.

It was a miracle when they reached the village. Both men hadn’t tried broaching conversation again and Arin just wanted to get this over and done with. The faster he helped the ninja save the angel, the faster his life would return to normal.

“ _So where is he then?”_ The ninja turned to stare at Arin expectedly. He just wanted to get to the part of this mission he actually cared about. Saving Danny. The man he barely remembered and yet all he remembered was a selfless angel who gave and gave and his reward had been imprisonment, torture and a loss of his own free will.

“This way.” Arin led the other through the winding streets and he knew that the shifter was home from the laughter coming from an open window.

“Ross! You fucker!” A male voice shot out and Arin couldn’t help but grin. Someone else who could help with this. If Danny was as weak as Brian had implied; he would need help moving.

“You were asking for it!” The snide voice of the shifter they’d come to see was pitched in laughter.

Arin knocked on the door and the shouting and laughter stopped instantly. The treasure hunter wasn’t surprised. Knocks at a door were usually a sign of a raid by a royal guard. And Ross had nearly been arrested during those enough in the past few years.

“It’s me.” He called through and there was a scrambling sound before the door opened.

“Arin! I thought you weren’t going this way for a long time!” Ross grinned and hugged his friend while the other male watched with his own grin.

“Well I could hear you annoying Barry from across the kingdom and had to come split you two up.” He moved to hug Barry and then he sobered a little in his joy.

“This is Brian.” He gestured to the ninja that had looks of fear explode on Barry and Ross’ faces.

“Arin…That’s a ninja.” Barry had his eyes focused on the ninja. Maybe if he stared at him long enough, the ninja wouldn’t kill him?

“I know. I’m helping him get a friend back. And I need your help. Cause his friend happens to be in the capital.” No sooner had he stopped speaking that Ross was laughing.

“The capital? He’s as good as dead, then. No one has broken out of there since the king took over.” The shifter wasn’t even sure breaking **in** was possible. At least, he didn’t see why anyone would want to. Word had spread of the king having almost godlike powers. And no one wanted to see if the rumours were true.

“According to him he’s not. But he will be if we don’t get him out of there.” It felt weird translating for the ninja but clearly; he wasn’t speaking to them. He was instead glaring at Ross and analysing Barry by the looks of things.

“And how we gonna do that, Arin?” Barry chimed in. “It’s almost impossible to get into the capital nowadays without a permit. Even you know that.” Barry had been the one to bail Arin out of jail after the treasure hunter had tried entering without a visa to sell an artefact he’d found. Without that single piece of paper, there was no way into the capital.

“He says he can get us in too. We just gotta get back out. And I have some ideas on that. Their security exiting the capital is laxer than the one on the way in. Ross, if you could create a big enough distraction, we could get him out. Brian said he got as far as where they were holding him but he couldn’t get him out.” Arin knew it was a lot to ask. Especially when he was sceptical himself. But something in him needed to at least try.

Ross looked unsure. “And what if they just kill me? I can’t leave Holly like that.” He wanted to help but the danger level was really fucking high. Any other town, he’d help. But the capital was a death-trap and Ross wasn’t sure if he would be able to get back out again.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, man. But this guy…Apparently, I knew him. I don’t remember him but some part of me needs to help him. Danny means something.” He watched as Barry’s mouth dropped open.

“Dan? You’re going to rescue Dan? Why’s he in the capital?” Ninja Brian had moved and pinned Barry to the wall before Arin could really register what had been said.

“ _How do you know Danny?”_ His eyes were cold and no one moved encase it would set him off any more than the mention of the name Dan had. All the men heard the thought question but Barry didn’t seem phased by that, more the violence.

“Arin used to hang out with him! Said he was just some guy!” Barry panicked. “But he just disappeared ages ago and Arin never spoke of him so I just assumed that they’d parted ways.”

Arin felt his heart clench more painfully. While Brian had said it before; hearing Barry say it was a lot worse. Barry was someone he trusted. A friend. And he remembered Danny, or Dan, whatever he was called. The fact that Brian had reacted to Dan meant that they had to be linked.

“ _Why did he not wipe your mind too?”_ The ninja didn’t understand what made this person special enough to remember the angel.

“I don’t know! I didn’t know he **could** do that! I thought he was a human, not a fae.” For a few seconds, everyone held their breaths over how Brian would handle that. But he dropped the man who took several deep breaths.

“ _You didn’t know. You weren’t in danger.”_ The ninja concluded. Danny’s angel status was a secret that he’d told only a handful of people and the ninja hadn’t understood why someone he didn’t know got his memories of Danny and he didn’t. But clearly, the man hadn’t known Danny at all. Just had heard of him.

“Okay.” Arin started carefully. “So…Danny’s real. That means that I can’t leave him to die at the hands of the king. Not if he was my friend. Ross? Have you decided on whether you’re gonna help or not?”

All eyes moved to the shifter.

“I’ll help. But only because he means something to you, Arin. Whoever this is, he doesn’t deserve to die. Especially if he’s fae.”

Arin didn’t correct him and neither did Brian. For now, thinking Dan was just fae would be easier.

“Barry? I’m gonna need your help too. You know the layout of the capital better than I do and you can help me get the guy out. He’s very beat up.” Barry nodded. Despite the manhandling, the man had seen through the anger to the source of the ninja’s anger.

“Sure, I’ll help. I don’t wanna have a ninja threaten me again.” He couldn’t help but laugh out of anxiety but no one else joined in.

Arin breathed out slowly and nodded. They had a game plan. That was more than they’d had that morning. Brian didn’t seem pleased with needing more people but Arin knew that strength came in numbers. The more people they had, the easier it’d be to pull this off.

“So, how do you want me to scare the guards? Giant big dick monster? I’m feeling giant big dick monster.” Ross asked with a smirk.

The treasure hunter sighed.

 


End file.
